Video Reflection
April 17, 2008
Partial Video
Today I videotaped my rehearsals of the Symphonic Band and the Wind Ensemble. Both of these videos show great improvement over the last time I taped myself with each group (which was in February). With Symphonic Band I rehearsed one song – Pop Culture – which I will be conducting on Plaid & White. This was the middle piece to be rehearsed during the class period. With Wind Ensemble I rehearsed the one piece I am conducting with them on Plaid & White: The Wizard of Oz.
The biggest thing about my Symphonic Band rehearsal that struck me was my comfort level and the students’ responses to me. For one, I’m quite confident behind the podium. Musically-speaking, I feel like I know very well what I’m doing, what I want to accomplish, and how to accomplish it. From a classroom management/discipline standpoint, I’m still not an expert, but I will say this much: I finally have a bit of a rapport with the students, and it shows. They know that I really do want them to be quiet when I ask for quiet, and they know that I won’t go on until they are. Also, I’m a lot less awkward about discipline. I do not yet have the perfect discipline system down, but I’m at least confident in what I am doing to help with discipline.
Wind Ensemble is always great to work with, both behaviorally and musically. Today’s rehearsal was no exception. We rehearsed excerpts from The Wizard of Oz, which we will be playing with a video accompaniment on Plaid & White. It’s a great arrangement, and the students really love it (a couple students have told me that it is their favorite piece of the ones we are currently playing). At this point, they play it well enough that decent complete run-throughs are very possible. I spent the most effort (as I did during Symphonic Band, too) working on transitions; each piece is a medley of other tunes, and so there are a lot of transitions that needed some work. Behaviorally, with Wind Ensemble, there was very, very little to do. They self-regulate their behavior quite a bit; a simple glance at a person or a section will usually take care of the problem, if not even elicit a “shh” or a “shut up” from their peers. While I prefer to do without “helpers” of this sort in the band, I do appreciate that so many of the care enough to help. This makes my job pretty easy, and rehearsing this band can be (and often is) a lot of fun.
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